Yvonne Jasmine Te Ruki Rangi o Tangaroa Underhill MNZM is a New Zealand Pacific development geographer.[1] She is a professor at the University of Auckland, where she teaches Pacific studies.
Yvonne Underhill-Sem | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Underhill in 2022 | |
| Born | |
| Nationality | New Zealand |
| Employer | University of Auckland |
| Awards | Metge Medal (2022) |
Early life and education edit
Underhill was born in the Cook Islands, and moved to Porirua at a young age, where she completed her primary and secondary education.[2]
Career edit
Underhill is a professor at the University of Auckland, where she teaches Pacific studies.[1][3] There she was Director of Development Studies from 2007 to 2014. From 2015 to 2018, she was deputy chair of the Inaugural Pacific Performance Based Review Fund, where she is appointed to be inaugural Deputy Moderator in 2026. She helped establish Oxfam in the Pacific in 2015, and since 2020 has helped start the Pacific Feminist Fund, a grant-making organisation to deal with gender inequality in the Pacific,[1] which launched in mid-2023.[4]
In 2022, Underhill was awarded the Metge Medal by the Royal Society Te Apārangi for "excellence and relationship-building in the social science research community".[5][6] In the 2024 New Year Honours, Underhill was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to tertiary education and Pacific development.[1]
References edit
- ^ a b c d "New Year honours list 2024 – citations for Members of the New Zealand Order of Merit". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 30 December 2023. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
- ^ "Here are the Pacific recipients of the New Year Honours list for 2024". RNZ. 30 December 2023. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
- ^ "Cooks academics lead the way in climate research". Cook Islands News. 10 January 2024. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
- ^ fijivillage. "Pacific Feminist Fund to address stagnating and declining funding for women's empowerment in the Pacific". www.fijivillage.com. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
- ^ "2022 Metge Medal: Understanding gender relations in Pacific communities". Royal Society Te Apārangi. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
- ^ "Cook Islanders celebrated for service in NZ New Year Honours". Cook Islands News. 4 January 2024. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
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